


Understanding Moon

by Nonesane



Category: Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 19:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11192289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonesane/pseuds/Nonesane
Summary: With the Fell threat defeated the court of Opal Night celebrates. Celadon wants to relax and enjoy their victory, but something won't let her. Malachite notices and both confronts and comforts her.





	Understanding Moon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pentapus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pentapus/gifts).



> **Timeline:** This takes place early during the month Moon  & co spent at Opal Night court, at the end of _The Siren Depths_.

Celadon sighed and stepped back away from the balcony's edge, back into the shadows. She wouldn't give Onyx's the pleasure of seeing her spines twitch.  
  
The worst was that she had no good reason to be unsettled. In the hall below, there was nothing untoward happening - unlike during Moon's first days at Opal Night. He was there, yes, and Onyx was the one hosting the dinner, but plenty of Malachite's warriors ate and drank alongside Onyx'. There was no reason for her hackles to be raised.  
  
Glancing down at the cheerful crowd, Celadon caught sight of the golden skinned groundlings, seated with the other visitors (as a challenge from Malachite to Onyx, Celadon suspected). One of them, the oldest one, leaned over to speak to Moon. They sat close, Moon as relaxed as Celadon had ever seen him. The groundling acted as if here were an old teacher talking to a grown-up fledgling he'd enjoyed raising, exchanging stories. They didn't touch, but the groundling had settled close to Moon; she'd only seen Indigo Cloud's sister queen, line-grandfather and their mentor-turned-warrior allowed that close.  
  
A hiss built up inside Celadon's chest. She choked it down and retreated further back, silently cursing herself. It was worse than undignified to threaten guests, even without them knowing. The groundlings had been nothing but friendly and helpful since they showed up.  
  
_Helpful to the queen who wants to steal-_ She stifled that thought as well and shifted to her winged form in a gesture of pure frustration.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
To her embarrassment, Celadon ended up back in her Arbora form, like an inexperienced warrior ambushed by a clutch mate. Spines lowered and face burning, Celadon turned around to look Malachite in the eye as she answered: "No. I'm just…just being unreasonable."  
  
"That is usually my task," Malachite said, showing that bare glimmer of a smile she offered those closest to her. At any other moment, Celadon would have taken the chance to enjoy her birthqueen showing such a clear sign of amusement and relaxation, even when it was at her expense. In the here and now, the strange laughter of the groundlings grated too much at her.  
  
Malachite kept off the balcony as well, standing in an alcove out of sight from the hall below. Celadon had no doubt she knew exactly who was down in the hall and what was being said. Few Raksura had as keen senses as a mature queen.  
  
"What do you think of your clutch mate?"  
  
Celadon did her best to hide her surprise. Malachite tended to be direct in her questions, but also clear with their intent. "Why do you ask? It's not like I've made my wish to welcome him here a secret."  
  
"Do you take issue with me allowing Indigo Cloud to have him?" There was no threat or challenge to Malachite's words. Not that Celadon had expected there to be. Malachite was a formidable queen, no two ways about it, but despite the rage simmering under the surface she rarely acted out against her court, especially not those she saw as her clutches. You had to do more than indirectly challenge her decisions to bring that rage upon you.  
  
"No," Celadon answered, truthfully. "It's clear he'd hate us if he was made to stay here. Better he go there than stay here and resent us." The words tasted like acid.  
  
"You don't understand his wishes?"  
  
Celadon gave a shrug with her spines that probably said more than she wished it to. "Jade is a good fighter and a good queen. And they were desperate for a consort. I can almost forgive them what they did. Maybe in time. I don't know what I'd do if we… It's just…"  
  
Malachite gave a hum in agreement, her spines unmoving. "Just?"  
  
"Just…" Celadon fumbled for words and was stunned to find them. Her voice lowered to a whisper she allowed them to tumble out: "He's forgiven them already! I don't even think he was mad at them in the first place, and I can't understand how he thinks! He was angry in a way, yes, but when Shade tried to explain why it made no sense to me. I've tried to talk to Moon directly, but he's better at evading unwanted questions than a mentor in a bad mood." The torrent of words ended in an uncharacteristic snarl that Celadon immediately regretted.  
  
Malachite took a step closer and reached out, resting a hand on Celadon's shoulder. "Remember that Moon knew nothing of Raksura for a very, very long time."  
  
"I try." Celadon squeezed her eyes shut, taking deep breaths through her nose. Her face still felt uncomfortably hot. "It's just so hard to watch how he is with the court. He's ours, and yet he's more relaxed with _groundlings_ than with us."  
  
Groundlings he knew. It was selfish and childish, really, but despite the knowledge that Delin and Moon were old friends it stung to watch them share a meal and conversation without tension. Moon might not be as jumpy and suspicious around her as when he first arrived here, but the way he acted towards her was a far cry from how he spoke to the groundlings or the Indigo Cloud Raksura.  
  
Malachite's hand squeezed her shoulder. "You know how close clutch mates can be. It's not fair that you've been bereft of that."  
  
It was impossible to miss the guilt buried under Malachite's steady tone of voice if one knew her well enough. Celadon wanted to derail that, as she'd always been wont to do when this mood struck her birthqueen, because nothing good ever came of guilt. Instead, she said: "He sang with us."  
  
"Yes," Malachite said, guilt nudged aside by the faint traces of wistfulness. "That is a good start."  
  
Celadon knew Malachite was right. More than that, she wholeheartedly agreed with her. That didn't make her heart ache any less.  
  
"Celadon," Malachite said, using the hand on her shoulder to gently turn her around so they were face to face. "If Delin and his groundling family down there woke you up tomorrow and told you, you were their long lost child, how would you react?"  
  
Stunned, Celadon gaped for a few heartbeats, then answered: "I…I don't know."  
  
"Neither do I."  
  
They stood in silence as the merry noises from the hall below died down to a cheerful murmur. Most of the court were heading off to sleep or enjoy pleasant company for the night. They watched Moon and Jade say their good nights - with clear reluctance, as blank-faced as Moon could be at times - before Moon and the line-grandfather headed for the consorts' bowers, the rest of the Indigo Cloud Raksura making a beeline for their guest quarters.  
  
Celadon rubbed at her eyes, exhaustion finally catching up with her. "I think…I should go rest for a bit."  
  
"Give him time," Malachite said. As silently as she'd come she left, melting into the shadows.  
  
Celadon sighed. "I suppose," she said to the empty alcove. "And myself as well."

****

Malachite allowed herself one deep sigh before she entered the consorts' bowers. Weariness weighed on her and she should seek out her own bower soon. But she knew herself well; her turmoil of thoughts wouldn't let her sleep until she'd finished her round.  
  
To her surprise Shade was nowhere to be seen when she entered the common area. If there was one consort you could trust to stay up far too late reading, it was him.  
  
Then again, she really shouldn't have been surprised. With what Shade had been forced to endure going to sleep early was a very mild consequence.  
  
Malachite let this change in routine register and sink below the surface, joining with the uncountable worrisome things she had no time to think about at this moment. It had taken her many years of practice to separate things that needed to be dealt with immediately from those that needed to take time. Patience wasn't exactly what queens were known for, but to be a reigning queen you had to learn it - usually the hard way.  
  
She took her time checking in on all the bowers, keeping the familiar head count going until she came to the last one. And froze.  
  
It wasn't that the line-grandfather was faking sleep. No, Malachite had come to expect that of the slippery old consort from the moment she met him. He was gradually winning her respect, tempered as it was by the threats he'd made against her court and her kin, but she wasn't foolish enough to let her guard down around him.  
  
What made her pause and hold her breath was the fact that Shade lay curled up against Moon's side, both fast asleep.  
  
Pride welled up inside her. It might not have seemed a logical reaction to such a quiet moment, but with the events of the past days, Malachite allowed herself to indulge.  
  
Her children were strong. Whatever the world threw at them - at Moon, at Shade, at Celadon - they would fight it and come out on the other side victorious. No matter how she'd failed them, they would one day outshine her; Celadon with her patience, Shade with his kindness, and Moon with his self-reliance.  
  
"Good night, line-grandfather," Malachite said as she turned around to leave, getting an amused snort in reply.  
  
The walk back to her own bower felt much shorter than usual. When sleep finally claimed her it was blissfully dreamless.


End file.
